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We've had some great feedback following the release of our new on-boarding wizard for building Docker stacks. One of the most frequent requests we're getting is advice on whether it's more beneficial to use a pre-built Docker image or to have Cloud 66 create one for you?

So for my 'how-to' series article, I'm going to cover this critical step to getting started with Docker in more detail. I'll be focussing on building your Docker image with BuildGrid.

What is BuildGrid?

If you're new to building containerized apps, one of the easiest ways to build a Docker image is to use our BuildGrid feature. BuildGrid is a hosted Docker image building service, embedded into the "Building a Docker stack" functionality Cloud 66 offers, enabling you to create images directly from your git code repository.

When using BuildGrid, your image is built based on your source code, which includes a Dockerfile, which specifies how you want it to be created. Using BuildGrid makes this process simple, allowing you to focus on what you do best, while avoiding the need to create internal processes to output Docker images. You can even integrate your CI solution so that new images are built and pushed to your servers once all your tests pass.

Pulling Code From Git

For BuildGrid to pull code from your Git repository and build your image, you will need to provide a git_url and git_branch. Simply place a Dockerfile in your repository to determine how the image should be built.

These images are built continuously from your source code and are stored in a private Docker image repository, available to be used locally or pushed to production servers.

Not Ready to Deploy Your Own App Yet?

If you're here to just kick the tires and check things out, how about deploying a pre-packaged app from our EasyDeploy store? These apps have already been Dockerized for your convenience.

It's worth noting you'll still need to connect to your own cloud hosting provider or server for deployment, but several of the build steps normally required can be skipped to deploy much quicker. We'll be talking more about the EasyDeploy feature in a future post.